The Night Before
by JSFazz
Summary: It's the night before their wedding and Bella is plagued by frustrating dreams. What happens when she lures Edward back to her room determined to fight for what she truly desires?


Bella's eyes flew open as she gasped, sitting straight up in her bed. She breathed heavily for a moment, taking in the quiet around her, as she struggled to remember what woke her in the first place. Oh, right. _That_ dream again. The usual one where she and Edward were tangled up in the sheets, naked and moaning…

"Damn it," she muttered to herself, burying her face in her hands. The slight sheen of perspiration on her forehead was a sure indicator that her dream had caused a major physical reaction in her. It didn't help that the pillow she slept on still smelled like him, his sweet, perfect, mesmerizing fragrance that could leave her literally struggling to form a coherent thought. Only hours before he had been there with her in her bed, the two of them wrapped around each other like pretzels, hands roaming, lips devouring…and then his stupid brothers had to show up and whisk him away to his so-called bachelor party. What exactly did vampires do at a bachelor party, she wondered? Something told her it wasn't the usual cigars, whiskey and strippers that human men seemed to deem tradition, and she was ok with that.

Bella sighed and lay back down in her bed. Glancing at the clock, she groaned. Only one in the morning. It seemed like an eternity before she could actually get dressed and go downstairs to start breakfast without scaring Charlie half to death. Staring up at her ceiling, she huffed and pounded her fists against the mattress. There was no way she was going back to sleep now. Despite Edward's disbelief, she KNEW she WOULD spontaneously combust after one more dream like that. All their practicing was weighing on her…she didn't think she'd make it until tomorrow night and the honeymoon. The little devil on her shoulder was almost positive she'd get him to cave, to succumb to her pleas to grant her her one 'demand' as she had called it long before they were man and wife, but Edward's resolve was much stronger than she had anticipated.

Moving her eyes to her window, she wondered what he was doing at that moment. Probably chasing a buck through the woods, crouching low to the ground before he pounced, flying through the air and gracefully taking the animal down. So beautiful, and so primal. The thought sent a shudder through her body, the heat coiling low in her belly. She knew that feeling, it was the same sensation she felt night after night with Edward pressed against her side, his hands trailing down her neck, his lips at her ear whispering words of love and forever, the smell of his breath as it washed over her, his cold lips molding against hers, the feel of his marbled chest under her warm fingertips…

_Stop it, stop it, stop it!_ she shouted internally.

Staring back at the window, she wished he'd come back. Her eyes focused on the glass, almost willing it to lift as his lithe body slipped through, his eyes blazing gold, smoldering as he took her in. What would she do?

She wondered. A devious grin tugged at her lips as an idea popped into mind…a plan really. Sure, she was getting married tomorrow, and her soon-to-be husband was out running around in the woods with his brothers bleeding wild animals dry, but that didn't mean she couldn't try. In all her life, she had felt like an outcast, never fitting in anywhere, until she met Edward. In all her awkwardness, her stubborness, and her usual demure persona, she never saw herself as sexy or a seductress. That world was foreign to her. And then she went and fell in love with a vampire, a vampire whom she was marrying in a less than 24 hours, and suddenly all things foreign and unsure didn't seem to scary.

Her last night of 'freedom' before she became someone's wife, before her mortal life came to an end and she'd be nothing but a bloodthirsty newborn vampire with no recollection of physical pleasures, or how sacred it felt to be that close to the man she loved. No. She wanted this too much.

Crawling off her bed, she stepped quietly to her door and locked it. Walking delicately to her window, she opened it and leaned outside. The air was damp with a slight chill, but it felt good against her overheated skin. Her eyes scanned the trees along the back of her house, tall dark shadows against the night sky. She didn't quite know what she was looking for, or listening for as she strained her ears, but something told her it wasn't far. _He_ wasn't far.

Taking a deep breath, she prayed this worked.

"Edward," she said in a normal voice, not shouting, yet not whispering either. "Edward, come back to me. Please."

She remained still for a moment, the breeze blowing her dark hair across her face. Lifting a finger, she quickly tucked her hair behind her ear as her eyes scanned the dark forest once more.

"Come back to me," she repeated, taking a step backwards into her room. She left the window open as she moved slowly back towards her bed.

Anticipation consumed her as her stomach began to tighten with a need and desire she never knew possible. Sure she had many nights with Edward, taken almost too far only to be stopped abruptly by his warnings. If she learned anything about herself in the past year, it was not to take her dreams lightly. They told too much, usually much of it truth, and the dream of them together, not waiting for the umbrella of marriage to save their virtuous souls, was how it was to be…tonight. As far as Bella believed, being soul mates was a far deeper bond than husband and wife, and she was forever bound to him the moment she laid eyes on him.

Slowly she lifted her tank top over her head and dropped it to the floor, keeping her back to the window. She glided her shorts over her hips down her legs and kicked them away, followed by her underwear. Lowering herself back down to her bed, she lay back and draped the single sheet over her naked body, her breath growing ragged as she prayed he heard her call.

Dark brown eyes watched the window eagerly. The very thought of him there, perched on her window ledge gazing upon her with those eyes only increased the ache within her. Her thighs began to tremble with need. Closing her eyes, she moaned as the picture of him came to mind, nestled between her legs, his thumb tracing her bottom lip before kissing her fiercely.

Her hand moved instinctively to her neck, running up her face into her hair, grabbing it in her fist as she moaned again at the image playing behind her eyes. Her other hand lay across her chest, her heartbeat pulsing beneath her fingertips at rapid speed, her breath coming in short, ragged spurts as the adrenaline rushed through her. She needed him desperately…now. In her mind, he was already there, kissing her, touching her, breaking through all the boundaries he felt it necessary to put up.

Her hand on her chest continued down, moving gently over her breast and resting on her belly. Her mouth fell open as her fingers splayed over her belly button, the heat from her palm seeping through her skin, melding with the fire that was already burning within her. Her fingers migrated further until she felt the moist heat at her core, and she cried out, her back arching against the bed.

A deep growl followed by the sound of splintering wood pulled her abruptly from her thoughts and ministrations as her eyes flew open. Her hands flew to her sides as she propped herself up on her elbows, pulling the sheet over her chest to cover herself. But she felt no shame when her eyes met his blazing back at her.

He was there, leaning in her open window, his hand gripping a piece of broken wood from her window sill. The piece in his hand was practically sawdust at this point.

"Edward," she said breathlessly.

"Bella," he replied quietly, although she could hear the strain in his voice.

"You heard me."

He stared at her intently, his lips pressed together. She could tell he wasn't breathing, which meant he could only say a few words. Deciding to not ruin the moment, for she knew he had witnessed her little exhibition, she forged on.

Sitting up in bed she let the sheet pool at her waist as she stretched out her hand to him, urging him to come to her. He remained frozen at the window.

"Come here," she said quietly.

"Bella," he admonished, shaking his head. "What are you doing?"

"Growing impatient," she replied, sliding her legs out from under the sheet and standing.

His pupils dilated as he looked at her naked body, unable to turn away, his hands instinctively pulverizing the wood in his hand into sand. She saw his chest rise as he took in a breath, and a pained expression crossed his face.

She walked towards him, her hand still outstretched.

"What is it?" she asked, noticing his face.

"Your scent…I've never…it's harder to control…I can smell your arousal," he stuttered, closing his eyes.

For the first time she questioned her motives. She knew what her 'normal' scent did to him, how it took all his will to not kill her just standing at her side. And all the times they kissed and touched, she knew it was difficult for him to keep his control. But he had told her that his love for her overshadowed his desire to taste her blood, to take her life. He 'got over it' more or less.

And Bella was in no state of mind right now to stop on a technicality. This was going to happen. She was determined.

Stepping closer to him, she placed her hand on his cheek. He opened his eyes and looked up at her.

"Will you at least come inside? You look silly stuck in the window like that."

Edward hesitated a moment before pulling his legs inside and standing upright before her. She looked up at him with heavy-lidded eyes, placing her hands lightly against his chest.

His eyes stared across the room, refusing to look down at her as she pressed herself against him. She realized he had stopped breathing again. Raising her hands to his shoulders, she slowly slid his coat over his arms and to the floor. Her fingertips delicately danced across the icy skin on his arms.

"Bella, please," he moaned, closing his eyes once more.

Bella sighed, her frustration evident. Placing her hands on the sides of his face, she pulled his face towards hers.

"Open your eyes, Edward," she demanded. He complied. "Tomorrow I am marrying you, and then you will whisk me away to some undisclosed location for our honeymoon where, I had hoped, you would follow through on your end of the deal."

"Yes, I said we would _try_," he said adamantly.

"I need you to pretend, Edward…imagine that this is our wedding night, and we are the only two people in the world. I can't wait anymore. It seems every where I turn anymore there is someone out to destroy the people I love, or an evil vampire after me seeking vengeance…I can barely go to sleep at night for fear that tomorrow will never come. And what if it didn't, Edward?"

"Bella," he sighed heavily, "I would never let…"

"I know," Bella said, putting her finger against his lips to silence him. "You would never let anything happen to me. Well I'm tired of always being the damsel in distress. Tonight, I want to take care of you for a change…of us. Tonight it's just me and you, and the immense love and desire I feel for you. And if tomorrow never comes, at least I will have lived my dream of feeling you move inside me, of becoming one with you…"

Edward squeezed his eyes shut as he rested his forehead against hers, his hands twitching at his side. "I don't want to hurt you," he whispered through gritted teeth.

"You won't hurt me," she assured him.

He lifted his head and raised his hand. Opening his palm, he let the grains of wood fall like ashes to the floor. Bella took his hand and laid it against her face.

"Do you feel this?" she asked urgently, her eyes imploring him. "This isn't a piece of furniture, or a window sill, or a wall…this is me. Your Bella. You're incapable of hurting _me_."

"You have no idea what your scent is doing to me right now…I am fighting to keep control, to keep myself from ripping you apart," he said, his voice breaking.

Bella decided to fight. Raising herself up on her toes, she pressed her lips to his, pouring all of her love for him into that kiss.


End file.
